I love to recommend books to people. You never know, you could be recommending a book to someone and it becomes their new favourite read. Recommendations are how we share what books we’ve love.
So, I wanted to share some of the books I’ve read recently and loved. These 5 books are ones I’ve given 5 stars and will be recommending for a long while! Here are 5 recent 5 star reads!
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—”Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
I picked this one up not too long ago in an online book sale. I’d been hearing some excellent things about it and wanted to give it a read. I absolutely adored it! It is such a funny, heart-warming and at times quite mysterious book. It was excellently what I needed at the time I read it. Some humour but also a bit of a mystery. I would highly recommend this one to everyone and I cannot wait for my order of the sequel to arrive!
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession… or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.
Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.
But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together.
Going into this one I was not too sure what to think. I knew that it was different to all other Christina Lauren books that I had read but I was looking forward to it being different. Turns out, I loved it. It is funny, has a lovely romance and a shocking mystery. At one point whilst reading this I gasped so loudly I woke up my fiancé who was asleep next to me. I didn’t expect it to shock me so much. I know it has had some mixed reviews due to it not being a usual Christina Lauren book. So, I’d recommend going into this one being open to something different. I loved it!
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Nora is a cut-throat literary agent at the top of her game. Her whole life is books.
Charlie is an editor with a gift for creating bestsellers. And he’s Nora’s work nemesis.
Nora has been through enough break-ups to know she’s the woman men date before they find their happy-ever-after. That’s why Nora’s sister has persuaded her to swap her desk in the city for a month’s holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. It’s a small town straight out of a romance novel, but instead of meeting sexy lumberjacks, handsome doctors or cute bartenders, Nora keeps bumping into…Charlie.
I’ve come to learn that I can always rely on Emily Henry for an adorable romance book filled with a lot of humour. Book Lovers is no different and is easily my favourite book Emily Henry has released so far. Set in a small town with lots of book and reading references, it was, in my view, a perfect read. This is definitely one I would recommend to pick up in Summer and I’m sure you will read it in a matter of sittings.
Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year’s Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn’t expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they’ve eloped.
Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met—and who doesn’t even know Elsie exists.
Before I read this one, I thought it would end up being my least favourite book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. When, in actual fact it is actually one of my favourites written by her. I could not put this one down and the story it tells is absolutely beautiful. There is one point in this book where I just burst out into tears it was so beautiful. You can also see how Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing has progressed with this being her debut novel. It would highly recommend this one. I loved it.
Vile Stars by Sera Milano
17-year-old Luka isn’t looking for love. She’s trying to piece her life back together after a heartbreaking loss. But when she meets the gorgeous and charismatic Cosmo under a meteor shower at the Greenwich Observatory, it feels like destiny has played a hand. Surely theirs is a love written in the stars.
But Cosmo isn’t what he seems, using Luka’s love for him to slowly take control of her life. As the pandemic starts to make headlines and lockdown sets in, she is trapped emotionally and physically in a coercive relationship. Luka’s friends and brother can see what’s happening, but struggle to reach her. Something will have to be sacrificed so Luka can set herself free – but what will be left of her when she does?
Luka’s story is told from many points of view: through her letters, and through the voices of her brother, Alec, his boyfriend Theo and Luka’s best friend, Roisin. Each of them holds a fragment of the story – it’s time to put it all together.
This book is beautiful! It broke my heart in the first few pages and I loved the journey that it took me on. Sera Milano writes such beautiful stories and I feel her books deserve so much more hype. This is definitely one that everyone needs to pick up in their teenage years or even in their adult years. You are bound to learn something from it. I cannot recommend it enough.
There you have it, 5 recent 5 star read! What books have you read recently and rated 5 stars? Let me know in the comments!
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